For some of you, there may still be time left for reading before back-to-school thoughts become all-consuming. One of my top recommendations: Stones into Schools by Greg Mortenson. These are stories of physical, emotional, and moral adventure. They inspire awe for the courage, persistence, and stamina they depict. Over and over Mortenson must step outside—way outside—his cultural and physical comfort zone in order to enact his persistent belief in the power of education to change the world for the better.
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Yesterday, in a post on the Yardsticks blog called “Standing Up Instead of Standing By: The Heart of the Classroom,” Northeast Foundation for Children co-founder Chip Wood wrote: “Every student, parent and teacher knows that bullying does not start in high school. We also know that talking about bullying does not stop bullying. It takes courageous action to stand up to a bully whether you are in third grade, sixth grade, middle or high school. You don’t just find that courage in your backpack one day. You have to learn it in school and at home just like you learn to read…”
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… I was pleased to see a New York Times article last week citing evidence about the positive changes that accrue from scheduling recess before lunch in elementary schools, since that is a practice that we’ve advocated for over twenty-five years now. [...]
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Perhaps you’ve seen the news that First Lady Michelle Obama and Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack visited Hollin Meadows Science and Math Focus School in Alexandria, Virginia, last week as part of their promotion of the Obama administration’s Healthier U.S. Schools initiative. Their visit was timed so that they could help students and parents harvest lettuce from the school’s garden for a school community Thanksgiving dinner … Raising a garden is just one of many components of a strong and healthy school community at Hollin Meadows, where staff implement many Responsive Classroom practices. [...]
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November 10th is Mix It Up at Lunch Day, a national event created by Teaching Tolerance. … designed to help students “cross the lines of school division, meet new people and make new friends” by sitting with students who are not their usual lunch buddies. … While on the surface this is a simple act, it can be not-so-simple at all to reach out beyond our safety zone and forge a positive connection with someone we do not know. [...]
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